Gallery: Murals That Turn Train Rides Into Full-Blown Art Shows
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The City of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program commissioned German artist Katharina Grosse to create seven unorthodox murals along the tracks of the city's commuter train.
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Dubbed *psychylustro*, the murals were made by spray painting one or two colors of paint onto portions of the landscape and structures.
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Taken out of context they look like industrial accidents, the imprimatura for a more refined piece of graffiti, or something Mark Rothko might have produced if he spent part of his life as a railroad tramp.
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The project's goal is to remind the 34,000 travelers who ride the rails on a daily basis about their city's greatness. “We really want people to see what we see,” says Jane Golden, Mural Arts executive director in a press release. “We see the deterioration, but we also see the beauty, we see the history, we see Philadelphia’s past.”
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Grosse's work is usually displayed in gallery settings and meant for quiet contemplation, but *psychylustro* will flit by at 50 miles per hour giving commuters from all walks of life a flash into a candy-colored caricature of their everyday world.
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As with most museums, patrons are told not to touch the art, less a matter of archival preservation and more a precaution against art lovers being crushed by an oncoming train.
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*Psychylustro* will be on display until paint washes it away or the buildings are knocked down.
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Some of the selected sites were dangerous to paint and could only be completed during a small window when no trains ran.
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Flash photography is encouraged and visitors are welcomed to share their photos on [Instragram](http://instagram.com/muralarts/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/muralarts), and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MuralArtsPhiladelphia) using the hashtag #psychylustro.
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*Psychylustro* might feel slapdash, but it actually required careful coordination between multiple artists and government bodies.
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Grosse's work plays with the tension between color, form, and the idea of gallery culture.
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An example of Grosse's earlier works where she'd spray paint piles of dirt inside galleries.
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*Psychylustro* builds on Grosse's prior work and skips the sculpting step in favor of highlighting the natural "beauty" in Philadelphia.
